Comfort
by loulou26
Summary: Oliver is having a tough day, Felicity to the rescue.


_**A/N:**_ So this is another one shot that follows the events of Clarity, so if you haven't read that, I would read it before this one. There will be a bunch of one shots all related to this theme so stay tuned for more.

_**Comfort**_

"Oliver?" Felicity's voice pulled him from his thoughts. He had no idea how long he had been sitting there at his desk, lost in his memories. "Didn't you hear me? I called your name three times."

"Hey, sorry I was just…thinking." he replied softly, standing up to meet her as she walked over to him. Without another word, he lowered his head and captured her mouth in a searing kiss. It still amazed him, three months into their relationship, that her kiss could affect him so much. Much like the one they'd shared in the Foundry after their first training session, it never failed to astound him. How he could love her so much and not be able to pinpoint when it was that he'd fallen so hard.

When she pulled back, he was happy to note the slight flush in her cheeks. He never got tired of seeing that and he knew that he never would. But his favourite part of kissing her, was looking into her beautiful eyes right after. They were so clear, her every thought reflected in them and all he saw was love. It was a feeling he was still getting used to, that someone so pure, so innocent, could love him with all his flaws.

She reached up and cupped his cheek, something she always did when she was worried about him but didn't want to ask. "I missed you this morning. I woke up and you were already gone."

"Yeah, I'm sorry, I had a lot of work to get done here."

She glanced around his newly renovated office at Queen Consolidated. It had been a month since he'd regained control of his family's company and as CEO, his job was now more demanding than ever.

As she pulled back, Oliver reluctantly released her from the circle of his arms, feeling the loss of her already as she perched herself on the corner of his desk.

"Place looks good."

He nodded but stayed silent as he sat back down in his chair, loosening his tie in the process. "There's still a lot to do."

"Well, I have something that might cheer you up." She grinned. "Two things, actually. And no, before you go getting any ideas, it's not that. Well, maybe later but for now…"

"Felicity." Oliver chuckled, interrupting her ramble. It was one of the things he loved most about her but sometimes she had a tendency to get off track and the last thing he needed today was to be constantly distracted by thoughts of her in his bed.

"As of today, I am officially re-employed at Queen Consolidated. And, I am back where I belong too. You are looking at the new head of the IT Department. Honestly, I would've been happy with having my old job back but Jack insisted that I was the right person for the promotion."

Oliver blew out a breath of relief as he absently caressed her knee. He'd missed her in the time she'd been working at Kord Industries. As soon as Oliver had taken his company back, she had handed in her resignation, but company policy dictated that she had to give at least a month's notice. He had a new executive assistant now but it had never been the same without Felicity. "That's great, Felicity. But what happened? I thought you couldn't leave until next week."

She threw him a wink and stood, straightening her dress before reaching into her bag for her tablet. "I have my ways. Now, onto business number two."

He folded his hands in his lap to keep from reaching out for her. For some reason, whenever she was around, he couldn't keep his hands off her. "Which is?"

She gave him a look of triumph, which in turn, gave him a sense of pride. Whenever she got that particular look, he knew that she'd made a major breakthrough on something. She never failed to amaze him. The woman was capable of anything.

"I found Marcus Philips."

Suddenly serious, he stood up and waited for her to show him whatever it was on her tablet. "How?"

"Well, it's kind of a funny story…" She swiped her fingers over the tablet a few times until some kind of document appeared. Watching her hand fly over the screen, it was then he noticed it. Four distinct little red marks on her forearm. Finger-shaped bruises.

He grabbed her wrist and raised it to get a better look. "Felicity, what happened to you?"

She pulled her wrist back and put her tablet down on his desk, taking a deep breath as if gearing up for something. "Okay so…remember how we were sure that he was going to go into hiding?"

Oliver didn't reply, his mind already thinking of the worst scenario. Marcus Philips was the owner of a local fruit packaging company. On the surface, there was nothing untoward about him. But Felicity had been investigating him for weeks, sure that he was laundering money made from selling the latest drug to hit the Glades. However, no actual proof could be found to tie him to anything despite the fact that every person the Arrow questioned, all pointed back to Philips.

"Well, I was getting coffee on the way here; by the way, did you know that they stopped making my favourite kind?" She babbled, waving her hands around. "Anyway, so I went to try out that new place, the one I told you about, and-"

"Felicity!" He couldn't help it but he snapped. He needed to know where those bruises came from.

She dropped her hands down by her side and sighed. "Okay, promise me that you won't get angry."

His jaw clenched as he stayed silent, he couldn't make that promise. Not when she'd apparently been hurt.

"Well, I sort of bumped into him. Literally. I was walking out as he was going in and we collided. When he recognised who I was, he made some comments about you and me. I may…or may not, have gotten a little angry and asked him when his next shipment of drugs was coming in."

"Felicity…" Oliver groaned, rubbing a hand over his face. "Why?"

"Why what? He pushed my buttons! I couldn't help it."

Oliver's anger went up a notch at the thought of that lowlife's hands on Felicity. "Why didn't you call me?"

She frowned. "What for? It's not like he attacked me or anything."

He grabbed her wrist again. "Oh no? Then what's this?"

She yanked it away from him, eyes narrowed but he could see the anger starting to swirl there. Which only served to fuel his even more.

"This is nothing, Oliver! He didn't attack me, he merely grabbed me in an attempt to scare me. That was it, and it was over as soon as it started. He walked away; I walked away. The end."

"Why would you confront him alone? Did you learn nothing from Tockman?"

Her gasp was barely audible, but he heard it. He wouldn't allow himself to feel bad about it either. She could've been seriously hurt and he would've known nothing about it.

"First of all, I didn't confront him. I ran into him. I defended myself just fine, Oliver." She replied between gritted teeth. "Not every situation needs to involve the Arrow. Where is all this coming from? I thought since Slade you were okay with me going out into the field more."

"This is different!" he yelled.

Felicity didn't even flinch. She took a step closer and stared up at him. "Listen to me, whatever is going on with you right now, you need to tell me. You are over reacting…"

"Over reacting? He could've hurt you, Felicity! Tell me how I'm supposed to feel when my girlfriend tells me she's been attacked! Tell me how I'm supposed to feel when I see bruises on you!"

Felicity licked her lips, took a deep breath and released it slowly. "It's nothing I haven't had before. Oliver…"

A knock on the door stopped her and they both turned to see Oliver's new assistant standing in the doorway, looking like she was about to enter a lion's den.

"I'm busy, Patrice." Oliver practically growled, his eyes still glued to Felicity's face. Her shock at his tone was evident as she gaped at him.

"I'm so sorry to interrupt, Mr Queen, but it's important."

"No, it's okay Patrice," Felicity stared at him for a moment. "We're done here."

She gathered her belongings and stormed out of the office, leaving a very nervous Patrice hanging in the doorway. Oliver blew out a breath and scrubbed his hands over his face.

He was aware that he had over reacted somewhat, and that his assistant currently looked like a rabbit caught in the headlights, so he softened his tone. "What is it, Patrice?"

* * *

Later that day, before anyone else arrived; Oliver was working out in the Foundry. He hadn't spoken to Felicity since she'd stormed out of his office earlier and it was mostly because he had no idea what to say to her. He knew he needed to apologise, even though he didn't believe he was totally in the wrong. She could've been hurt, but it was the knowledge that she'd put herself in that situation alone that scared him.

His mind was thrown back to the time she'd called him, telling him she was tracking Tockman from the very place he was going to be. His blood had run cold and yes, he'd gotten angry when he'd seen her there. Why couldn't she understand? He had always felt a need to protect her, ever since she'd joined the team. Now that they were together, now that he was in love with her, he felt that need stronger than ever.

He grunted as he jumped down off the salmon ladder, not yet feeling the burn that he'd wanted to distract him from his thoughts. Not wanting to stop, he jumped up to one of the monkey bars and hooked his legs over it. He tried to clear his mind as he started his crunches, but it was useless. Today was not a good day for Oliver Queen.

He was so lost in his thoughts that he didn't even hear her come in. The first he knew of her presence was a hand, softly touching his bare back, sliding down to the nape of his neck. Before he could even jump down, Felicity had moved to stand directly in front of him, her face inches from his. Her heels gave her just the right amount of height for their eyes to be on the same level.

Cupping his face in both hands, she rose up onto the tips of her toes and pressed her lips to his. She angled her head just a little so that her mouth fit perfectly against his. He closed his eyes, reveling in the feel of her, the comfort she was offering, and it made him fall even deeper in love with her.

She pulled back, her thumbs slowly caressing his cheeks. "I'm sorry." She whispered, staring into his eyes. "I didn't realise what day it was."

"I'm sorry too. I know I over reacted, but I just…I can't stand to see you hurt."

She put a finger on his lips. "No, it's okay. I should've called you, you were right. I just didn't think it was that big of a deal."

"It was to me."

"I know and I know why you reacted the way you did. I did a lot of thinking after I got home and I realised that something was bothering you, I just couldn't figure out what it was. Then it hit me."

The corners of her mouth tilted up into a sad smile as she stepped back and waited for him to jump down. As he grabbed a towel to pat himself down, she turned away to her desk, and reached into her bottom drawer.

When she turned back to him, he saw she was holding up a bottle of Russian Vodka and two glasses. "Your stock was beginning to run low and I know how much you like this stuff, so I ordered more."

He shook his head in amazement as she handed him the glasses and twisted the cap off the bottle. After pouring a little into both their glasses, she placed the bottle down on her desk and stared up at him.

"To your dad." She raised her glass at the same time he did, the gesture warming his heart. "Happy birthday, Robert Queen."

"Happy birthday, Dad." His voice broke a little as he said the words, and then took a little sip.

He smiled when Felicity coughed, the neat vodka obviously a little too strong for her tastes, and he wondered how it was possible that this woman came to be in his life. Her strength, her heart, everything about her, amazed him. Her toast to his father was the most genuine, heartfelt thing Oliver had ever heard someone say about him since he'd returned from the island, and she hadn't even known him.

He took her glass from her and settled them both on her desk before wrapping his arms around her waist to draw her in close. One hand came up to rest on her cheek, his eyes taking in every perfect feature of her face. "Thank you."

She smiled. "Hey, your dad was a great man, despite what people may say. He had to be, he created you."

Oliver's heart swelled at her words. No one had ever put it that way before. He was still broken, his soul still tarred from his time on that island. But with her he felt like he had a second chance. A chance to heal. "I love you, Felicity."

There were unshed tears shining in her eyes as she kissed him once again. "I love you too, Oliver."


End file.
